Wofford head coach Mike Ayers said there will be a special emphasis on special teams in the first scrimmage 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Gibbs Stadium.

And not just the kickers and punters.

Ayers and his staff want to use as many young players, including true freshmen, as possible on kick coverage and return teams in roles that have previously been occupied by starters at other positions. The Terriers have, in the past, used all-conference guys to make tackles on kickoffs. They would rather not do that too much this season.

“We don’t have as much depth as we need and we can’t afford to wear out some of the older guys who are starters,” Ayers said. “So we’re trying to give young guys the opportunity to get on the field and play. We’ve got guys who are fast enough and strong enough. But do they understand? That’s the key.”

Saturday’s scrimmage could also help decide which of those young players, some of whom have only been in camp for less than two weeks, can help on offense and defense as well.

“The first thing we’ll be looking at is how much they know,” Ayers said. “That’s the big thing, especially for the ones that we signed last year. Do they really understand what they’re doing? They’ve been given a lot. I think we’re going at a good pace. We’re at a point where we have to see how close we are to game-ready.”

Wofford is scheduled to have another scrimmage Wednesday evening as the second part of two-a-day practice.

“We’ll be more advanced by then,” Ayers said. “We’ll start to do more game prep. We’ll do our best to run the clock, shift guys in and out and operate special teams from the boundary.”

About This Blog

Todd Shanesy is an award-winning sports writer who has been twice honored nationally by the Associated Press and more than three dozen times by the South Carolina Press Association. He is a native of Troy, Ohio, and studied journalism at Marshall University (1987 graduate). Shanesy is a former sports editor of the Florence (S.C.) Morning News and has been with the Spartanburg Herald-Journal since 1991.

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